Broken Mirror
by Nezumi1
Summary: A elf called Skairukh, who has been a slave to orcs for a 1000 yrs, is found by Haldir and his 2 brothers. Trustworthy enough for *ALL* our fav. elves? Haldir/OC non-slash! ::Ch. 6 - Yarë uploaded::
1. Prologue T.A. 2509

  
Disclaimer: If I owned Lord of the Rings, why would I write a fanfic about it?  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
  
Prologue T.A. 2509   
  
A cry in the night. A fair head shook in the night. She would not be forgotten; every day of the second month Lady Galadriel would think of the lovely girl. Tomorrow at daylight she would go and tell her people, but who else was here to mourn her passing? In fact, though it would be an evil thought to think some elves would feel relief that she was gone from them for better or worse forever. Whether she was killed or simply made to suffer out eternity in the hands of Evil Galadriel could not see, the mirror had broken for just one elf. It was the one elf she had offered the mirror to, and the one elf who refused.   
  
Galadriel's head drooped over the water. Her own future she could not see, she could see Ninui future equally as clearly. Why could she not? If she could, she would send out an entire band of the Gweth Gilith if it could retrieve her--in fact she was tempted to do so anyhow. But the Gilith were her best warriors and she could not forsake her entire people for a single girl, and with the recruits coming by the bundles these days there would be no one left to train the young things.  
  
All of Caras Galadon and all of Lothlorien awoke upon the next cry. It was silenced, most likely by death. Who was here to weep for her passing? She was so innocent and rendered helpless for the lack of parents-- the only orphan elf in Lothlorien. Galadriel never been particularly fond of the snappish young girl and this had not only been due to the fact she was a spit-fire, but also because it frustrated the Lady of the Golden Wood beyond end that she was forced to speak to the youngling orally without exception.   
  
Never had Galadriel had such resistance in all her long life. Never to speak of. Though it wasn't as if the youth was _trying_ to resist, she was well-meant. But... the girl had been too curious and it had led to her downfall. So many questions... Galadriel shook her head. She nearly pitied the orcs if they made her a slave.  
  
Upon the dawn of the morning she ascended to her balcony above the Galdhrim. What was she to say? They simply wanted know if it was the hunting party. They did not care. Where had all the humanity and honor gone in Lothlorien?  
  
"My lady Galadriel," a captain of the Gweth Gilith Galadhrim guard named Rumil approached her tentatively. "Was it my brother's hunting party that was caught last night? Every elf in Lothlorien heard the cry of despair."  
  
"No, my good captain," she replied loftily. His heart went to ease, then curiosity but he did not say it. "The hunting party was nowhere near the site of this atrocity. To the North, one of our people wandered too close to the edge of the wood and was taken by a raiding party of orcs."  
  
"Is she alive my lady?" a relatively young elf by the name of Haldir inquired. Galadriel could search his heart and was pleased what she found. So there was still compassion left in the great kingdom in which she had saved from its doom? There _was_ still a brave one left? He did not know the girl, in fact he did not even know for sure it was a girl but he was determined to know her fate. He was determined to never let the wayward elf come to harm nor any other elf in the community.  
  
"Come here young genteel."  
  
Rumil shot his younger brother a death glare. He had been ordered not to speak out of turn._ If your heart was as pure as his then you would have made no such order_, Galadriel informed the captain, who straightened like a board.   
  
"I know not, Haldir," Galadriel said. "The ring shows me nothing."  
  
The entire flock of elves below her went into whispers momentarily forgetting that she could already feel their shock. Not only had she mentioned the ring aloud, but she could not see? Was Lady Galadriel's power fading? Was she not the all seeing good? Did she not know went on in their wood anymore? Could she no longer protect them with the ring? Could she still hear their thoughts as they thought now? If she could, they were disgraced with themselves.  
  
"My friends," Galadriel addressed them. "It is only the little one. There is hardly a handful of people that cannot see into my mirror and I cannot listen to their thoughts and desires. One is Gandalf the Grey and the second, Elrond, the Lord of Imladris, Celeborn, and my own Celebrian. The Eye I cannot read; his actions yes, his thoughts no. Who is to say this is an example of dissipating power?"  
  
The group gulped. And as she predicted there was no one to shed a tear for the girl named after the second month because her mother had died--oddly enough, giving birth to her.   
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. Well, this is the prologue so its short. Generally speaking I try to skip prologues, but I couldn't make this a chapter for some odd reason. *shrugs* Please tell me what you think! 


	2. Chapter One T.A. 3021

Disclaimer/Claimer: I own my OC. You know the rest of this I suppose... *disclaimers are so boring to write and monotonous... blah... blah... blah...*  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
  
Chapter One: T.A. 3021  
  
Some soul rustled in the bushes, it was not simply an animal. It was a soul. There was nothing primal about the feel of the mind that nearly crushed the surveying Galadhrim. The only one that rivaled the unleashed power of this soul's was the lady of the wood. The surverying elf broke into a dead sprint. It smelled like orc.   
  
_"Yrch", _his brother Rumil hissed, spinning and following his younger brother toward the telain. Why did he go towards the telain? True, Rumil did not have the exact sense of direction for the warning of intruders, but he was daft to head for the telain! Wouldn't it be much simpler to seek them out by probing minds rather than sitting atop a spypost and overlooking with one's eyes? It would take too much time and an orc could easily be headed to Caras Galadon before then!  
  
"Orophin!" Rumil kicked the middle child of the three brothers. "Wake up you _ujere!" _Of all the elves that ever lived, Orophin was the only one that truly _slept. _No one knew why, but according to the elf himself it was because he thought it a pleasant experience. To both of the other brothers' disgust he tended to doze off quite often.   
  
Orophin shot up and onto his feet. "Oh... there's an orc about?"  
  
"It smells like orc," Rumil shrugged and kept stride behind his youngest brother. Ever since he had been called upon by Lady Galadriel that fateful day and promptly introduced to the high council of Lothlorien, neither of his brothers felt he was within reach anymore. Celeborn took it upon himself to teach the _tellela _"things"... and all Orophin and Rumil ever got was a stern order now and then, although it generally seemed to come from Haldir. Orophin shrugged, as was his nature, and accepted it. Rumil simply could not.  
  
When Sauron had returned to Dol Guldur in 2460, their parents had been the first to assist any kind of resistance-- their mother was the _Amandil _ of his father's Galadhrim Guard regiment. As the healer, she also accompanied them into battle. Consequently, the two had been killed. First his father, then his mother of grief, some elves said. Who had been left to raise his two younger brothers? Rumil. Orophin had been nearly 200 years old at the time, but his light hearted nature still needed looking after and Haldir had been very young, too_ nessa_. He had been ten years old. Ten! He was practically an infant! Raised by his brothers, Haldir had always been the shadow and the bother. Therefore, Rumil would never think of his younger brother as an adult until he was fully married off, or something of the like. Haldir had been through one war, that certainly wasn't enough to prove himself to Rumil.  
  
"Why are we going to the telain?" Orophin raised an eyebrow at Haldir's direction.  
  
"That's where she is."  
  
"She?" Orophin shrugged again. So his brother knew more than he did, he wasn't neccessarily going to worry his head off about it.  
  
Hidden amongst the trees limbs, the telain gave watch over the river to see all of Lothlorien by an elf's eye. No one had stood post for a long while, mostly because there was no war-- it was over. But there most certainly was their long standing proof of a hawk's ever watchful eye over the land of their people and of that surrounding it.   
  
Quickly, Haldir ascended the tree hopping the branches until he paused stringing his bow. "There's no orc up there," Orophin yawned leaning at the bass.   
  
"Well it sure is not a pleasant smell, now; is it?" Rumil retorted tartly. "If the ever popular commander would like to go in first, I say we let him. At least we aren't that st-" He cut himself off as he pressed his hand to the red bark of the towering Redwood tree of the First Age. "... Haldir..."  
  
But he was already gone and Rumil caught the last glimpse of his baby brother's golden inlayed quiver slipping into the spypost. So he whispered to Orophin, "There's blood on this tree but its... mingled. There is no clear tracing of it."  
  
Orophin's light nature dimmed and he wiped a finger across the trunk of the tree. "Its either _Istari, __agar en'edhel, yrch, _or..._ en'huine_ . I haven't felt it since they carried in mother and father."   
  
Rumil looked up the tree, "And Haldir would not be familiar with this. He was too young, maybe its familiar but he certainly couldn't associate it with anything."  
  
Haldir looked out the window, and was, upon Rumil's shock, uncertain of the course of action he should take, "Perhaps... you two should come up here... as quickly as you could manage."  
  
"There's blood down here."  
  
"Of course there is, its coming from up here," Haldir replied.  
  
"Well what is it then? Orc? Wizard? Elf? A Demon? What?" Rumil demanded as Orophin quickly scaled the thousand some year old tree.   
  
Haldir looked at him briefly, "Not an orc."  
  
"Then it couldn't be a demon could it?"  
  
"If there's such a thing as a beautiful demon."  
  
"So its an elf?"  
  
"Just come and take a look would you?" Haldir finally yelled, getting tired of the relentless questions that he was unable to answer. And he was quite positive Rumil was doing it just to insult him too. Rumil had a habit of doing that-- Rumil still thought of him as an infant and Haldir knew it. There were no hints to be given, his brother had made it very clear that he thought of him as incompetent to be the highest rank - Gweth Gilith Protector of Wooded Realm - and the only elf currently in that position. Orophin paid no mind, but it meant all the world to Rumil for no known reason.   
  
Orophin reeled back from the sight and leaned back out the opening to look at Rumil. Elves rarely get sick from illness, but upon the sight of something particularly ugly or horrific they have been known to have weak stomachs. At least many of those who chose not to travel out of the Golden Wood. But Orophin was not one of those weak stomached elves... his stomach was like a stone - unalterable by the sight of so many fallen comrades or the simple fact orcs had descended from them. He was one of the elves that had never regurgitated their lembas on the first patrol. But apparently what befell his eyes had changed his mind, he was nearly as green as the leaves of the forest!  
  
As soon as Rumil found_ it_, he too was repulsed. A burnt body, bloody from slashes of whips and knives and ripped with orc teeth, hair singed black as charcoal from a previous color, unidentifiable at the moment, and the worst was the deep wound to the side caused by a broadsword most likely. Certainly the most grotesque fact about the wounds and burns was the fact the female was still breathing. "Well?"  
  
"I say she's an elf."  
  
Orophin looked back around, if only for a brief moment, "Elf."  
  
"Half-elf," Rumil folded his arms. "I know her from somewhere but I can't put my finger on it."  
  
The _inya _moaned rolling over onto her side and immediately the body shook with pain. The three most esteemed warrior brothers stood looking at her as her dark amber eyes cracked open.   
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. Hopefully you still like it! Our favorite other people will soon be worked in eventually... I know my elfish is not entirely consecutively correct with Tolkien's novels-- I got it off of: www.grey-company.org Its a combination of all three Elven languages.   
  
Another note: I like all the fanfictions I do to be fairly accurate. If you find anything non consistent or completely off with my work, tell me! I'll most likely end up editing it out or around it!   
  
A note relating to that: T.A. 2401 (a hundred year before I said the elf-girl was taken from Lothlorien) is supposed to be the date that Haldir's parents were killed, which I made up 'cuz they never mention them in the book *no da*. Technically the "Watchful Peace" after Sauron's reign was still happening until T.A. 2460. However, I decided to twist it a little because most people aren't that exact. Hopefully it doesn't bug you too much! Haldir's supposed to be at least 100 years old when she is taken.... so... I had to.   
  
LAST note: If you don't get my elfish words, here's the translations for you:  
1. _Telain _- its a spypost like thing they use on the river. I forget which river. *shrug*  
2. _Tellela_ - a young elf  
3. _Amandil_ - healer  
4. _nessa_ - young  
5. _Istari_ - mage/wizard  
6. _Agar en'edhel_ - blood of our people *roughly*  
7. _Yrch_ - Orc *no da!*  
8. _En'huine_ - Of darkness   
9. _Inya_ - female/woman  
10. _Ujere_ - dull (head) *I used it as an insult*  
  
Please Review! I like lots of feedback so I can improve! And thanks to all who did review already! 


	3. Amber's Demand

Disclaimer: Own - nadda. Get - zipp.  
  
Broken Mirror   
By Nezumi  
  
Chapter Two: Amber's Demand  
  
The elf's eyes closed again and uncharacteristically Haldir knelt beside her. Rarely did Haldir comfort the wounded and when he did it had always been his own soldiers. Orophin and Rumil looked at each other, while he propped her up slightly. This was quite an odd situation already, because she smelled repulsive but even the stern Rumil could not help but think there was great beauty under her tortured skin.  
  
Her eyes opened completely and widened in puzzlement.   
  
"Yup she's an elf alright," Orophin commented to his brothers with a roll of the eye in Sindarian.  
  
"Of course I'm an elf!" she snapped in the exact same tongue. It was rough, like it had not been used in such a beautiful way in a very extended period of time.  
  
"How did you get up here?" Haldir demanded.  
  
"I climbed. How else?" she responded, trying to sit herself upright, failing as she held her side.   
  
Rumil folded his arms, "Why? How?"  
  
"Because I saw it," she responded then looked them up and down. Her eyes were processing and remembering it was easy to read on any elf that had not traveled for so long. Rumil did not demand further, as Haldir turned around with a look that wondered why not. Truthfully, Rumil could not shake the familiarity of the young elf. She was a little younger than Haldir he supposed, but then again just about anyone was young to Rumil. He had been born when Galadriel and Celeborn came to rally those remaining in Lothlorien during the Second Age. He had seen Lothlorien rise.   
  
Orophin still looked about ready to let his lunch come back up, though his color was slowly returning. "There's Astladan with the horses," he commented. "We'd better clean you up a small bit otherwise the Amandili will have our heads promptly."  
  
Haldir turned to glare at his brother. Had he lost all his senses? The Galadhrim had their secrets, and they took pride in their mysteriousness. The people of Lothlorien and their Lady did not simply let any stranger who happened to wander onto their land into their homes, wounded or not. What of the Dwarf and Orc Wars? Did he not remember his own tales? No matter if a dwarf or dwarf-friend was wounded, they would always turn them out of the safety of the wood. Lothlorien was a haven only to those whom they allowed to pass the border. This battered elf was considered an outsider until task proven."We cannot let her pass without-"  
  
She held her side, and in one giant movement sat up. All three brothers of the Gweth Gilith, personal guards to the Lady herself stared at her. Her eyes undaunted by the prospect of death, and what was it to her? They supposed by the way she pulled herself to her feet that she had some form of in-human and un-elvish tolerance for pain and it was not dwindled as she held herself up by pillars erected in the telain. She informed them, mainly Haldir, with a voice worthy of a queen, "I want to see Galadriel."  
  
So Haldir began to answer, his traditional answer. He hesitated only a brief moment - her demand had been so personal, like it was him requesting entrance into his own residence. "The Lady of the Wood-"  
  
_Who calls my name?_ Galadriel asked Haldir. _Bring her to me. It is at this time none of your concern Haldir why I would request a stranger to me. So you shall have patience and in good time be told._   
  
.*.  
  
Astladan, the only _Kelvaser _that Haldir's personal regiment had yet to acquire looked up at the three brothers of the Gweth Gilith-- a sect he could only dream of ascending to. They spoke to a wounded female, in what was obviously a tense conversation. It was not Astladan's disposition to pry, he stuck to his own business respectively because he often was not curious like many other eager young elven men. However, she stated so clearly the name of the Lady of the Golden Wood he could not help but hear. _Galadriel. _He could not even dream of uttering it under his breath! No one called Galadriel by her first name besides the occasional question from Elrond and Celeborn. What on Earth possessed this outsider? It was a beautiful name for a beautiful ruler, he almost wished it was said more.   
  
Not wishing to anger Rumil, who had been hot-tempered of late, Astladan gave the horses the command to remain at the base of the telain. It was more of a request, considering he was an "animal friend" as his job was appropriately labeled by the elven community. So the Lady had permissed her entrance? Was it not a strange day in Lothlorien indeed....   
  
As he rode away their voices still filtered through the trees in stray strands. Above all, as usual, was Haldir's voice that had been preened into superiority, by conversing with Lord of Lothlorien so frequently as a simple comrade. "What is your name?"  
  
"Astladan!" Orophin fell into pace behind the pony. "Astladan! Stop!" It was an excuse to get away from the woman's state of degeneration. Rumil had escaped with the excuse to get more water. Was it only Haldir who could stand the sight - and smell - of her? But everyone could hear clear as the water Galadriel's mirror the words spoken in their conversation, which sounded more like a confrontation for the first few minutes.  
  
"I'm not that bad," the amber eyed elf snapped at him.  
  
Haldir crossed his arms and did not say anything for a few moments. Elves could take their time replying to things he supposed, so old that it didn't really matter-- you could take 3 years in a response and it wouldn't matter that much. Well, maybe a little. It then crossed his mind that they had not yet learned her name, which was a customary precaution for all patrol Galadhrim patrols. "What is your name?"  
  
"I... um..." she looked down at the floor, pulling files upon files. "What _is _my name...? Uh..."  
  
"What do they call you?" he rolled his eyes. How could one not remember their own name? Was it really that hard? She hadn't had a stuttering problem or slow of quip before this.   
  
To this question she replied easily, "Skairukh."  
  
"Skairukh?" he asked incredulously. "What kind of name is that for an elf?"  
  
"Its not."  
  
He rolled his eyes. Was this _Skairukh _not impossible? She couldn't answer any question straight it seemed! There was always a twist and turn but never a definitive answer. "Then where'd you get it?"  
  
She set her jaw, "I don't remember what my own kind called me. I know Galadriel will you."  
  
"You speak like you know her personally."  
  
"Maybe I do!" she sneered. What did this idiot know about her past? Did he think he knew more than she did? And what made him think he could cut her down with all these trite but degrading remarks? There was nothing that could touch her after the pain she had suffered for the last thousand years of her life. Was he always this dispersonal? And dispassionate?   
  
"Where did you get that ugly name then?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed, with a hiss she informed him, _"Yrch."_  
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. Astladan is a name that I made from the root of 'brave'. Kelvaser mean 'animal friend / trainer'. Next chapter: Oh... you'll just hafta wait. ^.^ Reviews please! 


	4. Er Tellela

Disclaimer: Do we have to go through all this again?  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
Chapter Three: Er Tellela  
  
The rest of the day had fallen into an uncomfortable silence and as the four journeyed on underneath the high canopy of Lothlorien's trees. "Are you sure the Lady wishes to see such a disrespectful little brat?" Rumil asked his brother sharply.  
  
"I am sure," Haldir said his eyes unmoving from the captive they now held. She was not a prisoner, as the Lady had not specifically ordered that she be a prisoner, but certainly any elf who had been kept in the company of orcs was not to be trusted. _But you do not wish me to see her_, Skairukh hissed at him in his mind. Haldir stared at her, his eyes piercing her very flesh. What was she? She claimed to be elf. But she spoke in his mind! He twitched. _You do not like me inside your dol?_ she asked. _ Is it uncomfortable for you? You should be used to it now, with Galadriel and all_.   
  
_It is of no concern to you what my thoughts are_, he snapped in his thoughts. She did not need anything else to understand him; she was there inside his head. She knew what he was thinking.   
  
_Oh it is. Because you still want to pierce me with the hallowed arrows of the Wood, simply because I can utter the Lady of the Golden Wood's name and not expect the heavens to strike me down. You are a loyal servant, Haldir, but you bore me. _  
  
He whispered to his horse, _"Putta." _Promptly halting, the horse stood looking at him for further direction but Haldir simply dismounted and walked over to the 'victim' he'd discovered. He was beginning to wish they had left her there to rot, but the smell, he supposed, would have been even more unbearable. With a rough jerk, he pulled her down from behind Orophin, she winced but emitted no noise. "Get out of my mind."  
  
Orophin cocked a blonde eyebrow and sent it Rumil's way. "He's finally cracked!"   
  
She addressed the youngest of the three in a language that was most certainly the farthest from elvish that one could ever get. Such ugly words to come out of a mouth so perfectly formed seemed impossible until you heard it for yourself. With a hiss and a noise from the back of her throat she caused the three to shiver. Continuing on, she said in a language they understood, "You don't frighten me. Its a wonder you've managed against orcs this long, Haldir of the Gweth Gilith."  
  
He grabbed her shoulders and threw her up onto his own horse, "Shut your mouth and don't disgrace the wood with Orkish. You act like you descend from the Ohtar."  
  
"I am Ohtari," she smiled, crookedly. "And I don't take it as an insult."  
  
"You obviously weren't well versed in the Swordsinging methods if you were captured by Orcs."  
  
With a hiss she informed him, "I was but a child when I was taken _Haldir, _a very sad child and disgraced child. The only reason came back to Lothlorien is only because it is the closest to the mines of Moria. Have you looked a balrog in the face, Mr. Haldir? I have. And with other ancient demons, even more ancient than our people; it does not frighten me that you do not like me."  
  
"Where you go then?" Haldir humored her with a sour face as he whispered a word in his horse's ear.   
  
"I would go to Mirkwood."  
  
"Mirkwood is a dark place," Haldir replied clearing his throat. Perhaps Mirkwood had been cleared since his last visit, but it mattered not to him. It was a dreary place, he never wished to go back - he hadn't the stomach for the spiders, and the veil of dark, crushing mist that filled an elf's throat. No wonder those Elves always came to Lothlorien with a gushing look as soon as they glimpsed the Lady's trees in their splendor.  
  
"Or I would go to Fangorn."  
  
"Why Fangorn?"  
  
"There is no one to hate me there."  
  
"Elves do not hate, they only despise," Haldir replied.  
  
"Oh, Elladan and Elrohir - they hate and so do you. You hated the darkness like no other, because it is the one thing elves do not understand. Elrond hates the darkness. Elves, pure?" she gave a slight hint of laughter. "Oh, only in their minds. But no dares to defy them and tell them differently, for you know as well as I do, that if you weren't orders of Lady Galadriel to bring me to her, then I would be dead. Because I can't lift my arms to fight you back. Elves are ruthless when it comes to killing. They show no mercy. If elves can love, elves can hate."  
  
Three sets of eyes fell upon her, but no one said more.   
  
.*.  
  
"Caras Galadon, _eska'amin_," Orophin sighed dreamily, with a crooked grin to gesture he was joking. Again. Rumil and Haldir both rolled their eyes. Would he ever shut up? That should be the mystery of the universe, because neither doubted it would ever be solved -- Gandalf the Gray would be figured out before the wish of Orophin ever keeping his trap shut was full-filled.   
  
"Maybe we should take her to the _Amandil en'kard_ before we present her to the Lady," Rumil suggested, still sickened at the sight of her charred flesh. Should an elf have to suffer through such torture? She seemed so accustomed to it as she seemed accustomed to saying their names. She said them with ease, as if they were not a threat as if it didn't matter... How could one drop the name of the _yrch _so lightly? Even if she had lived amongst them for any period of time, you should think it would only worsen the effect.   
  
Orophin looked at to the capital house of the Lord and Lady, "Perhaps..." He paled. "I think I'll go check on Loteliel..." He dismounted giving the horse to a Kelvaser and rushed off in the direction of the three brothers' home. Once they had been told they were the only regiment in all of Lothlorien that wasted no time with many formalities such as dismissal, except when in the company of the Lord and Lady. After all, the citizens mused, it would be odd to have the youngest brother tell the oldest brother when and when he could not leave.   
  
Rumil, the reason why the party did not use formalities, guided his horse toward the stables, "I think since your the commander you should... explain to... yes... I'll be going..."  
  
Setting his jaw, and musing about the unfairness of being the youngest brother - even if one was the highest ranking - Haldir dismounted and Skairukh followed without a sound. Well... she still moved like an elf, if nothing else. "I don't suppose you had any brothers or sisters, who did that to you."  
  
"No. My mother had only myself."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yes. She had no husband, so I was told. So I was not only an orphan elf, but a bastard orphan elf," she replied. "They did not the father, or would have been considered bonded."  
  
Haldir was immediately confused as he led her to the House of the Healers, "How could they not know the father?"  
  
"I don't know," she replied. "And just to warn you... I'm going to pass out in a few moments."  
  
He turned to her and she did exactly as she had fore-told, falling neatly into his arms.   
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. Thank you for your patience! I have been VERY busy, so I have been very long in getting this chapter up! Learning how to drive... being in a musical... at any rate: please R & R!  
  
Translations  
1._ Er Tellela_ - one elf-child *think about info*  
2. _Dol_ - head  
3. _Putta_ - stop  
4. _Ohtar_(_i_) - Warrior(s)  
5. _Eska'amin_ - my home  
6. _Amandil en'kard_ - House of Healing *roughly*  
7. Loteliel - a name I made up with the base *Lote* of flower. ^.^  
  
Caras Galadon *for those who don't know* is the capital of Lothlorien!  



	5. Whispers

Disclaimer Bite me.  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
Chapter Four: Whispers  
  
Holding her wrapped hand over her amber eyes, Skairukh tried in vain to see the owner of the footsteps that now approached her. A familiar scent wrapped around her and she relaxed slightly but her curiosity would not allow her to give up on seeing her visitor. She squinted but it was all to no avail, she could not see him. Her eyes weren't accustomed to the brightness. "You're already up?" the voice asked, and she knew the rough coarse-ness of it. "The Amandil..." He glanced at her apprehensively. She was beautiful, even though she bore numerous bandages. "The Healers, they told me you were still unconscious."  
  
"Then why did you still come Haldir?" she inquired and closed her eyes. The brightness was nauseating her - and she didn't want to black out whenever Haldir, the Gweth Gilith Commander ever showed his face. He'd think her weak, she knew how these kinds of men worked - and Skairukh wasn't about to let _that _happen. "You could have left and come back later to check on me - to see if I was up, I mean... so you could take me to Galadriel..." She shook her head. She had trailed off the subject again. "So, yes, why didn't you?"  
  
"You intrigue me," he replied examining the light. They were simple, if one exerted a small bit of natural energy within the _hroa_ with the _ fea, _they could ignite it. It was a simple explanation, he liked simpler things sometimes. Skairukh was not simple. Most visitors were so easily read, he knew their intentions within seconds; how else could he have ascended so quickly to the position of a Knight Commander in the Gweth Gilith and personal companion guard to the Lord and Lady of the Wood? This was as high as one got to royalty without being royalty. And he most certainly did not wish to be a ruler!  
  
She gave a sigh of relief as the light dimmed, "Its obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."  
  
"You said you got your name from the _yrch," _he mused wandering around the room. He wasn't used to speaking with many elven-women, though he doubted she was hardly a regular Silvan elf. "What are they like?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
He gulped, "Orcs. What are they like?"  
  
Her eyes glazed over, whether it was love or hate he could not tell, but she was not with him. She was far away, probably deep in the mines - where they had dug too deep. "They are loud, smelly, almost like an oversized pack of wolves. They understand most Sindarian, believe it or not and are quite intelligent beasts. Despite being cannibalistic they are rather family-oriented."  
  
"Family oriented?" he broke in.  
  
"The mothers will protect their children at any cost, as will the fathers to the mothers. They travel in large groups so they can be near their family unit. They do not enslave their own children - as I've heard rumors before. The only way an orc is enslaved by other orcs is if its parents are purposefully killed by orcs... if that made any sense to you at all. Orphans are taken into families. Orphans are those whose parents died in combat with dwarves, elves, and men."  
  
"Too bad elves don't work like that," Haldir snickered. "How long?"  
  
"How long what?" she was confused, too tired to read his mind and he only spoke in phrases!  
  
He shifted onto his other foot, clearing his throat, "How long were you in bondage?"  
  
"Little over half a thousand years," she replied. "512 to be exact... if I counted right and this year is 3021..."  
  
"How... how do they treat slaves?"  
  
"Depends on the master... I-I was traded to an Uruk-hai for awhile, nasty creatures..." she shuddered, and unexpectedly she burst into tears. Though in a sticky predicament, Haldir rested a hand to her shoulder blade as it sobbed. And as soon as he lowered himself slightly she latched onto his tall frame. "Nothing's changed here! Nothing! Still nobody cares of my passing and coming... is it better to be or needed? Is it better to be beaten or be alone?" she choked.  
  
Her floor length hair draped down in a braid over his elbow, as she sobbed onto his shoulder with never ending waterfalls of tears cascading down her face. She did not wail like many of the elven women did when they mourned. Her cries were near silent, hushed by years of what he supposed was necessity. "What good is an elf who doesn't remember her civilized name?" she inquired of him, despondently. "I have no use here..."  
  
Orophin cocked an eyebrow up at the sight he saw through the window of the House of Healing. Had it been the previous day Haldir had yanked the now-bandaged elf from a horse? And now he held her like Orophin held his beautiful love - Loteliel when the poor elf had sobbed and mourned for her mother's passing? Was it not? Wasn't that when Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood had requested that the three brothers care for his older sister? Wasn't that when Orophin had fallen in love with her?  
  
"Ah, don't you remember it, love?" Loteliel asked with a nudge.   
  
"And Haldir hasn't a clue what he's doing."  
  
"Oh, by the looks of it... I'd say he's doing better than you were."  
  
"What?!"  
  
The elf's laughter resounded through the trees. "My brother sent word while you were away; he, Gimli, Elladan, and Elrohir are expected to arrive in a few days."  
  
With one last glance through the cocoon of the room the healers had put her in, Orophin grinned, "Oh yes! I'm happy now... it seems as if Rumil will be the only bachelor left among us! Permitting you're still allowing me to marry you formally... Haldir doesn't look like he's at any loss for a love."  
  
"Oh yes, that would be a joy to finally trap you!" she winked. "Rumil will be very grumpy indeed about your brother's new friend."  
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. Wow! Two days of consecutive posting! Isn't that amazing? Hee-hee Haldir and Skairukh already have rumors about them and they still can hardly stand each other! ^.^ R & R!  
  
Translations Very little elvish this chapter!   
1. _Hroa _- body  
2. _Fea _- spirit 


	6. Flower

Disclaimer Haven't we gone over this before?  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
Chapter Five: Flower  
  
Haldir composed himself. After his last visit, he'd been left unsettled witht he questions she had asked him. Nevermind it was hardly common for a lone elf to cling to a high member of society and drain her _fea _so much that she had fallen into a deep slumber through her tears.   
  
When he enterred she was pacing, despite the bandages woven of elven silk, she was adorned in a dress worthy of a queen. She had always made him wonder, which was strange enough in itself, but this enterred more pressing questions into his mind. Had she been some politician's daughter? Where had she been sent such clothing? ... And that was before he noticed mithril!  
  
"Skairukh was sent, as a welcoming gift, some possessions by Celeborn," the healer smiled at him. "I do not know why, but he came personally while she was still asleep."  
  
Haldir raised his eyebrows. It was rare Celeborn knew more of the happenings of the wood than Galadriel. Galadriel had Nenya, Nenya made them powerful - Celeborn's wisdom ranged to every cranny of Middle Earth, true, but... Galadriel was Galadriel. Not one single elf had challenged her rule since she had come to the Golden Wood and had transformed it into the Golden Wood. They'd challenged her power once, he remembered; he did not remember why the people had been in whispers only that they had been.  
  
"Why can't I leave?" she demanded.  
  
It was hard to believe it was she who had been sobbing a few days ago in his arms. Why had he given into that trap? She was still a rather... cold, if you will, elf. She had been hardened beyond where most elves could not be hardened. It was remarkable she had survived so long with the orcs, but, obviously, elven qualities and a good personality had suffered. The healer was dismissed, and Haldir began, "Patience --"  
  
"Is a virtue I hope I never gain," she snapped. "I can walk. I want to see Lady Galadriel," she emphasized so he would not reprimand her furhter. She did not like being scolded, especially by Haldir. His criticism was unbearably simple mined, by elven standards - or perhaps just her standards - and he never gave reasons. Not yet had he given her one legitamit reason to call her Lady Galadriel. She was a self-appointed ruler. Therefore, even if she was Noldor, Skairukh saw her as her equal.  
  
Haldir cleared his throat once Galadriel gave him his orders, "the Lady of the Golden Wood wishes to meet you. I suppose she knows your intentions. Better than we do at any rate..."  
  
.*.  
  
At first Haldir had dreaded the duty of escorting her to the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien but as he walked with her - he was quite happy he had. Vibrant was the only word that seemed to describe her mood for of the day. She entedned her curiousity to him, and not once did she snap. "Did Gandalf the Grey live here? I lived here once!"  
  
"Yes, Gandalf holds his residence here while in Lorien."  
  
She crooked her head to the side, "Were the trees at all damaged by the war?"  
  
"The war of The One Ring?" Haldir looked at her. How could she have been aware of that? Were the orcs aware of the war of the ring? Well, she said she was bound to an Uruk-hai didn't she? But still... it was odd that she should mention such current things. Especially since she claimed she came from the orcs in the mines of Moria. When she nodded to confirm his question, he replied easily, "No."  
  
"I'm sure you..." she stopped as she stepped onto the spiraling staircase to the place in which it was customary to bring visitors. "She isn't up there."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Only Celeborn is there," she replied. "I thought I was going to speak to Galadriel again. I already talked Celeborn."  
  
"You talked with Celeborn? The healer said you were asleep."  
  
She snorted, "That's what she thought. Because I didn't like the fussing. Fussing doesn't do anyone any good and most Amandili fuss excessively."  
  
"And what would you have to talk with him about?"  
  
"How he's been doing," she looked at him as if he were insane. "Anyway, Galadriel's out back in her garden, by the water where she draws her mirrors from." She crooked a smile. "I suppose you've looked in the mirror of Galadriel."  
  
"No."  
  
"Really?" she seemed amused and her feet found the path well enough without his assistance. He rolled his eyes back in his head and followed. Oh, he would get in so much trouble if Galadriel was having a bad day. Not that she had many bad days anymore, but he, by all technicality, should have gone up to see Celeborn first. He caught up with her quick enough and passed her when she paused for a small group of flowers and crouched.  
  
Seeing the Lady up ahead, he was relieved to find she smiled at him, "I trust Celeborn told you to come down here."  
  
"Well... partly..." Haldir picked his words carefully.  
  
Galadriel told him, "I only know what the trees told me."  
  
He was puzzled. The trees told her many things, he was sure. After all, more than once he'd come upon her having a conversation with one - when he most certainly could not hear the other side. It no longer gave him discomfort. But Galadriel always knew the tidings of those in her wood before they ever reached her palace in the trees. When he turned back for Skairukh he found her... talking in a tongue he didn't understand to a flower. A _flower. _Now he could understand trees, but a flower. "Skairukh," he whispered.  
  
Her head snapped up, whispered one more word to the flower, and she stood up to full heighth.  
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. ^_^ Not yet. Next chapter. Pinkie swear. More history on the sassy one too. ^_^ I was to lazy to find an elvish word, so... yeah... This was just a lead in to chapter six! R & R please! 


	7. Yarë

  
Disclaimer Don't make me tell you again...  
  
Broken Mirror  
By Nezumi  
Chapter Six: Yarë  
  
"Ninui!" Galadriel gasped rushing over to the rather short elf, grasping her chin in her hand. The younger elf remained motionless.  
  
"I am Skairukh now."  
  
"No you're not. You are my _yarë, _you always will be. It isn't a matter of choice. I was trusted with you."  
  
"You were trusted with me and that trust was broken," Skairukh jerked her body away. "I am no daughter of yours. You disliked my presence, I was a nuisance. A nuisance of a promise you made to my mother! And you know the identity of my father and you won't tell me. You never have told me. You keep everything secret."  
  
"Perhaps it is not yours to know."  
  
"That is exactly it, it _is _mine to know, because he is my father. I was ostracized from your woods long before the _yrch _took me from your hell. This is the only hell that would be served to you on a golden platter."  
  
Galadriel's hands rested at her sides. "It is when we lose something that we come to realize its worth, is it not so?"   
  
The elf's jaw set, "And if they remembered me; would anyone in Lothlórien welcome me in open arms?"  
  
Just as Galadriel's lips creased, she wondered if she should have challenged her to that. Considering the idea of fleeing the scene and riding... North perhaps to Rivendell. But where would she get the horse? She would have to steal it of course, and that wouldn't do. Not only because what was left of her elven nature forbade her and it was stealing.  
  
Very coyly, Galadriel beckoned Haldir from his post at the entrance to her realm. Standing forth, she took his arm and place him on the opposite side of Skairukh. "Do you remember the story of how you came into my graces Haldir?"  
  
"Yes." He did not add that Rumil liked to remind him that of his imprudence, he became an officer of the Galadhrim. Rumil liked to remind him of many things, mostly that his eldest brother thought his post was folly. Haldir did not believe he bought himself into the Guard, but he certainly believed that his comments may have held certain weight with his rapid placement; as well as the Lord and Lady's company.   
  
"What did you ask?"  
  
His eyes were puzzled, but answered, doubt in his voice, for what purpose this served. "I inquired of a small elf that had lost her way in the forests and... cried in the night." He looked at her. This was who he had to thank for his position? A female with too sharp a tongue? There was no one here to mourn her passing; no one had then either.  
  
"I have found you someone who remembers your passing into the hands of the _yrch."_  
  
"How delicately you put it," Skairukh replied imprudently. "My passing may be remembered, but I doubt that Haldir would welcome me to his homeland with arms wide open. Would you Haldir? What would you say then?"  
  
Haldir looked at her, as Galadriel backed away slightly, "And if I told you I would welcome you into the Golden Wood, were it my welcome to give; what would you say then?"  
  
She stared at him, _"Why?"_  
  
"Why what?" he countered.  
  
"Why would you welcome me here when you seem to hate me so much?"  
  
He looked at her, hoping to Elendil this wouldn't be the end of his career in the Lothlórien military, "Because not everything is as it appears to be. Sometimes love is hate and hate is love, while resentment can be fondness and fondness can be resentment."  
  
"That isn't what I asked," she replied, still completely puzzled. "I asked why. You did not receive me on the borders with open arms to say the least."  
  
"I don't like many people that resent the Lady of the Golden Wood," he replied. "Or have any revenge stirring in their hearts against her."  
  
Skairukh looked away, "Then you welcome many people."  
  
"Except dwarves, and those who bring evil. If they only wish to stay to regain strength or the like," he replied with a small shrug. "You also smelled quite foul if I do recall."  
  
"As if smell says much about a soul!"  
  
"You don't know much about enemies then," he replied. "You smell rather lovely now if that's any consolation."  
  
"You're not a poet, Haldir," she replied. "Galadriel, if you wish to help me then give me my old horse and let me leave."  
  
"No one stops you but yourself," she replied placidly. Her dainty hands folded in front of her, and Skairukh's heart clenched up. She ran away from the garden, as fast her legs could carry her, to the dense forest. "Haldir."  
  
He stopped his unconscious exit. "Yes milady?"  
  
"I will pass into the West and I fear there will be no one to maintain Lothlórien's beauty."  
  
The elf squinted, momentarily wondering what she wanted, "You want Skairukh to remain in Lothlórien? She claims she hates these woods."  
  
Galadriel looked into the water. "She may profess that she hates it, but you know as well as I an elf can't really hate and remain the way they are. They become wretched things, distorted and ugly, miserable. But she will not. And it isn't her alone I want to manage Lothlórien." Her eyes fell upon his head. "I did not make you a commander for nothing Haldir."  
  
Haldir took a small step back.  
  
"You do not know. It is a odd feeling for our people to feel is it now? When we are uncertain of each other's... emotions. An elf greatly knows which way he favors when he ponders, he ponders for the sheer delight of thinking differently. However, your uncertainty of information causes you anguish. For that I have a cure, for your choice, I do not. I adopted Ninui when her mother died giving birth, her father's name I cannot tell you."  
  
A wave of persistence washed over Haldir, "Why?"  
  
"Because I cannot bring myself to tell her... If you've noticed, Celeborn has always had a fond affection for her. And I suppose he had already seen her within a few hours of her arrival. I will consider him her father, not by blood, but by love and isn't that all that matters?"  
  
.-*-.  
  
A.N. So incredibly sorry. I lied. I said the 18th. Or was it the 17th? At any rate, its the 20th. I so sorry. But I am so glad people like this! ^.^ Hopefully new chapter soon. Bug me, it comes. ^.^ Oh and Yarë is the word for daughter. So long! Have a peachy day!  
  
P.S. Saw The Two Towers. You did what to the story!?!? Haldir doesn't die and the elves are NOT at Helm's Deep. Stupid Peter Jackson. Stupid stupid man! You could have at least let Haldir be at Pelennor Fields. . 


End file.
